freeatlast

Nah ... F**kin BASE jumpers

How about a nominal $5 a week rental charge after 60 days?

Hi Mike As everyone else has already said - it looks great

Yep - it's the worst $1200 that you'll ever save ... There are also places out there that sometimes will hire you an AAD or even let you pay it off over a period of time (if they know you)... Here in the UK - new AAD's tend to be around $1500 - $1600 but we work with people to help get them sorted with one... I've sold two AAD's in the last couple of days alone - both of which were a year or two old and will be good for at least the next ten years

I'm pleased to read that VB is ok ... As many have said - there's always ups and downs in life - that's why the UPS are so SWEET!!!

Happy Birthday Nick

Well - i for one am always happy to read or hear about the history of those that went before ... I was blown away at BD in 05 when i got to hear from Mike and the others, then i met Jevto and sat and had a long chat with Jean ... It was a trip i will remember for the rest of my life ...

Definately a working title - I've been pooping myself at different points in life for many different reasons As a child it was a learning process ... For most of my adult life it's been because i've scared the poop literally out of myself!!! Later it will probably be because of my senility So it seems like a good title

Oops i think i pooped myself

Come on Nick - everyone knows that BASE was invented by a certain brand of 'soft' drink I think it was at the X-games to celebrate the millenium ... It was way RAD ...

Another copy purchased

Yeah - but think about the DZ toilets! Maybe if we only took one parachute it would save weight ...

Something tells me you're going to fit in well down there Be careful - lickings ok between jumpers - but it could get you into trouble in SF Have a blast ... But as one of the other posters mentioned - the DZ is a bit away from the town etc and it will make life easier if you have transport ...

Hey - way to go there Don't forget to visit the $1 taco van if it's still there. Say hi to Ed for me ... And stay away from the BASE jumpers

Advance Seven of course

Hey seriously - don't sweat it - we all mix things up ... Just enjoy the jumps ;0)

Exactly - sometimes you can spend $1200 on a rig and in a year it could be worth next to nothing so you've spent $1200 and you've got little chance of seeing your money (plus a lot of hassle trying to re-sell it) But if you spent $2500 - $3000 and put 100 jumps on the system and kept it in good condition you find that it's still worth 80-90% of what you paid and it's relatively easy to resell again. The first set of gear is usually the hardest one to buy for most people as they've usually spent a bundle on getting their licence. We have a system where people buy their first rig from us and we swap their canopy after about 150 - 200 jumps when they are ready to downsize which works quite well as everyone knows the costs up front.

Or maybe a troll? But as the man said "if you're gonna be dumb then you'd better be tough"

Hi there - and welcome to a lifetime of zero cash In answer to what should you spend and what is too cheap i think you have to look at the following points:- Why is the rig cheap in the first place? - cheaper gear is usually old gear with high jump numbers - now in some cases this is perfectly OK because the gear is SAFE. In some cases the gear is worn out and at the end of it's useful life - as a beginner you need to get a rigger to inspect the gear as you are unlikely to be able to make that decision for yourself. It may be that the gear is perfectly ok for flat flying but is not freefly friendly - in which case you need to make sure that you are happy to do the next X jumps on your belly! - Sometimes older gear can be an absolute bargain - there are fashions in skydiving like any other sport and non-fashionable gear brands in non-fashionable colours can sometimes be a steal - but again with anything that is less well known you need to speak to an instructor or rigger to make sure that it's ok for you. The alternative is to hire gear - which may be the safer option but the trade off is that you will still have to buy gear at some point. Some gear stores will offset some or all of your rental payments against a purchase... (We offer this in the UK) Or you may want to see if you can either get an interest free credit card or a small loan (if you are comfortable with the repayments) to increase your budget - or maybe consider doing some packing at the DZ? It's amazing what spending $2500 will get you compared with $1200. Anyhow good luck with your search and remember to check any prospective purchase with your instructors or a rigger (or both).

Still down today - but at least justskydivers.com is still up and running ;0)

This is very true - but the bigger the manufacturer the more complicated the picture becomes. Using the seafood industry as an example - one company that was selling 'fresh' local 'shrimp' in Scotland was found to be catching the shrimp and freezing them before shipping them 12 000 miles to be peeled. The processed shrimp were then re-frozen and shipped back 12 000 miles before being sold as locally caught fresh shrimp. Apparently it was possible for the shrimp to be shelled locally but it wasn't the best option financially ... Obviously people buying the local shrimp thought that they were helping the local economy whereas the workers being paid to actually process the shrimp were literally on the other side of the world! So it is very difficult to find out the truth behind the 'facts'. One company that i know was getting almost 100% of their production parts from China and assembling the product in the home country simply to use the 'made in' stamp on their products as the locals were prepared to pay more for something they thought was made locally compared to an item that they knew was made in China

I can't believe that all of you watch Hollyoaks!!!

Still down 20:00 GMT

Hi Lars As the others have already stated - you should really demo both canopies if possible in order to make a balanced decision for yourself - there could be something specific about either one of the canopies that you prefer and makes the decision for you. However if you cannot get hold of a demo storm to try then i would go for the one that you know and like! But i'm sure if you contact PD they will arrange a demo for you ... Otherwise i can find you a nice X-Fun canopy to demo against that triathlon

Hi Guys Shipping time to the UK is usually approx 5 working days give or take* Obviously you have the shipping costs which can easily be $200+ then import duty adds approx 3% and VAT (currently 15%) on the total price (including the shipping fees). Currently the £ vs $ is around 1.5 actual (it was 1.6 but has recently fallen). Regards James *HMRC can hold any parcel for as long as they like - but it's generally rare - however if they do decide to query something they can take as long as they like. I recently had a delivery delayed by almost 3 weeks whilst UPS / HMRC messed around!!!